Bipolar could be the ‘price humans pay for higher intelligence and creativity’
Through studying children aged eight and then in their early twenties Glasgow, Bristol, Cardiff and Texas made some startling discoveries.
Participants in the study who came in the top 10 per cent of manic traits in adulthood had a childhood IQ nearly 10 points higher than those who scored in the bottom 10 per cent of manic traits.
Researchers believe their findings suggest that bipolar disorder may have been ‘selected through generations’.
‘One possibility is that serious disorders of mood such as bipolar disorder are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency,’ said University of Glasgow psychiatry professor Daniel Smith.
It is hoped the study, which was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, will help in earlier detection of mood disorders.
One in every 100 British adults is thought to suffer from bipolar disorder, with many celebrities such as Steven Fry and Russell Brand being open about being afflicted by the condition.
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